In Pursuit of the Perfect Tomato Pie

It's mid-summer and our thoughts turn to tomatoes. Or specifically to our all time favorite food: Summer Tomato Pie.

I have posted tomato pie recipes before, including my southern version and  one from The Fat Hen in Charleston, and a French one from our friend Monty, and my most recent version, as I'm always playing with the recipe.

Now I have two more to share with you, both French and fabulous.

We were in our new favorite Beaune restaurant the other day, La Superb. Bruno was a Michelin starred chef and owner of a fancy restaurant, but he gave that up for a casual spot where he works alone in the open kitchen. There is a counter all around the tiny kitchen, and the evening's entertainment is to watch the master at work. 

Bruno served us a tomato tart as a starter, beautiful and  perfect in its simplicity. The crust was thin and crunchy, almost like a cracker. The taste was pure tomato, but lemony. He used three colors of tomatoes, which made it beautiful to behold. Before we left he kindly  leaned over the counter and told us how he did it. 

The second tomato tart recipe comes from Julie Grimes at Black Sheep Kitchen in Birmingham. This recipe is truly based on a French classic.  It is really a quiche, but of the French variety: a shallow tart with a buttery, pastry crust, lots of tomatoes, and a minimal amount of custard. She adds a little mayo to the custard and I like what she did with the crust, adding cornmeal and cheese. She also douses her tomatos with a herb oil, which is a wonderful idea, but otherwise it's a traditional French recipe, and you can find this tart in many a French boulangerie. And it's delicious!

So, how do you make YOUR tomato pie?

RECIPE: Bruno's La Superb Tarte de Tomates

(The photo above is of my test version, sadly all red, without the triumvirate of tomatoes).

First, the pastry. There are a number of varieties of French pastry (all available ready-made), and he uses pâte feuilletée (though he probably makes his own. I'm not going there). The closest American equivalent is puff pastry. Like puff pastry in the states, the stuff you buy here is ready to go. But here's his trick: he rolls it out until it's impossibly thin, and cuts it into rounds, maybe 5" in diameter. I found that this was pretty easy to do.

Next, he brushes it lightly with a spicy mustard. You can use any spicy mustard, but Bruno uses one mostly only known to the French: Moutarde au Pain d'Epices. Pain d'Epice is a spicy bread that is similar to our gingerbread. So this is a grainy mustard with honey and spices like cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. In this tart, it's flavor was very subtle, so I'm thinking he used very little.

Then he sliced heirloom tomatoes (green, yellow, and red), paper thin, and overlapped them slightly on the tart. He drizzled it all with olive oil, just a touch of balsamic, and lots of lemon zest. No cheese. Just perfection.

Bake it for 20 minutes at 400 (200C). Fine to serve at room temperature.

When I tested it, I couldn't slice the tomatoes very thin because they were quite soft, but it still worked well. The crust was nearly like his and the tart had that same lemony flavor, so don't skip the lemon zest.

RECIPE: Julie Grimes' Tomato Pie that is like a French Tomato Quiche

photo courtesy of Black Sheep Kitchen

Here is the recipe from her Birmingham restaurant. You will see it's somewhat complicated, but you could use a ready made crust to simplify. Makes one 9" pie.

• FOR THE CRUST:
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (9 ounces)
• 6 tbsp. cornstarch
• 1⁄4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (about 1 oz.)
• 3 tbsp. shredded Gruyère cheese (about ¾ oz.)
• 3 tbsp. cornmeal
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 1⁄4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• ¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 2 large egg yolks
• 4-6 tablespoons ice-cold water
• Cooking spray
• FOR THE CUSTARD:
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 3 tbsp. mayonnaise
• 3 large eggs
• ½ cup heavy cream
• FOR THE GARLIC- AND HERB-OIL:
• 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp. chopped fresh basil
• 1 ½ tsp. minced fresh garlic
• FOR THE TOMATOES:
• 1 large ripe red beefsteak tomato
• 3–4 medium-size multi-color heirloom tomatoes
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Fresh basil or chives (for garnish)

PREPARATION

1. For the crust: Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Place flour and next 6 ingredients in the bowl of an electric stand mixer with paddle attached; mix on low speed to blend. With mixer running, gradually add butter 2-3 pieces at a time, beating at low speed until butter breaks into pea-size pieces. Add yolks and mix until incorporated. Add enough cold water, 1 tbsp. at a time, blending just until dough begins to form a ball. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth. Shape dough into a round disc and wrap with plastic wrap. Let stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes (or refrigerate for up to two days).
2. Preheat oven to 400˚. Unwrap dough and place it on a lightly floured surface. Roll into a 15-inch circle. Gently transfer dough into a 9-inch springform pan lightly coated with cooking spray, pressing dough into corners and up the sides of pan, draping dough over edges and pressing lightly to adhere. Pierce dough several times with a fork. Freeze for 15 minutes. Place pan on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Shield dough with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dry beans. Blind bake for about 20 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. Remove weights and discard parchment. (“If you see any visible cracks in the shell or fear it may leak, seal it up by brushing raw egg white all over the inside of the blind-baked crust while it’s still hot,” Grimes says.)
3. For the custard: Combine half-and-half, mayo, and eggs, whisking until smooth. Stir in cream.
4. For the oil: Whisk together olive oil, basil, and garlic.
5. For the tomatoes: Core tomatoes, and slice about 1/8 inch off of tops and bottoms of each tomato. Slice tomatoes into ¼-inch-thick slices. (“I don’t always peel the tomatoes, but if the skins are especially tough, you may want to peel them before slicing.”)
6. Prepare the dish: Reduce oven temperature to 325˚. Arrange half of the tomato slices in a circle on top of prepared crust, overlapping slices and alternating colors. Season tomatoes with salt and pepper and drizzle with half of oil mixture. Sprinkle lightly with Parmigiano. Repeat procedure with remaining tomato slices and oil. Carefully pour custard around tomatoes, leaving most of the top layer of tomatoes visible. Sprinkle top layer of tomatoes lightly with salt and pepper.
7. Bake for about an hour or until custard is just set; remove from oven. Let stand 15–20 minutes.
8. Using a serrated knife, saw the overhanging crust off the top, and remove ring. Slide pie onto a cake stand or cake circle. Sprinkle top of pie with fresh basil or chives and a bit more Parmigiano, if desired. Slice into wedges and serve warm. (In my test I used a prepared crust but I did make the fresh herb oil, which was delish.)

In the COMMENTS: Suzanne has shared a very unusual gazpacho recipe which I can't wait to try. With a unique ingredient! And our loyal reader Susan Vieth has a great post this week on A Small Village in France, all about how the French "work the shutters" to keep their houses cool without air conditioning. I have trouble explaining how it all works to friends–it's complicated–and she does a great job, with her usual humor.